holiday windows

Video: The Making of the Bergdorf Goodman Holiday Windows

Of all the elaborate holiday displays that light the city’s main shopping drags this time of year, Bergdorf Goodman’s windows are widely considered to be the pinnacle of the spectacle. Though the store’s windows span five streets, the main event is made up of the five Fifth Avenue–facing windows of the women’s department, at 58th Street. The meticulous mind behind the magic is that of David Hoey, Bergdorf’s director of visual presentation, who tackled the storied windows for the thirteenth time this year. The theme is “Compendium of Curiosities,” loosely inspired by Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, but Hoey admits he’s more concerned with “dazzling and spoiling people” than conveying a particular story (the windows are “deliberately overstuffed,” as he puts it). The scenes are both over-the-top and obsessive in their construction: A library scene is made entirely of intricately cut pieces of paper; another display, of winding staircases, is made of antique wood; and a third contains murals made from shattered and reassembled Venetian mirrors. All serve as awe-inspiring backdrops for gowns by Pamella Roland, Alexander McQueen, Monique Lhuillier, Marc Jacobs, and more. The tarps are off today — watch the video for a behind-the-scenes look.

Video: The Making of the Bergdorf Goodman Holiday Windows